Pedometers are popular for use as everyday exercise accessories. Often worn on the belt, pedometers can record the number of steps that a user has walked, and thus the distance. Pedometers, or step counters, can provide encouragement to a user to compete with oneself in getting fit and losing weight. However, most pedometers do not have the ability to record and store data. In addition, such pedometers often erroneously record movements other than walking, such as bending to tie shoes, or a road bump while traveling in a vehicle. At the same time, falls are serious hazards for older individuals as coordination, muscle strength, and balance tend to deteriorate with age and advance of chronic diseases such as Parkinson's disease and the like. In managed care as well as home settings, injuries resulting from falls may render older individuals incapable of calling for help and/or requiring emergency treatment. Resulting bone fractures can require lengthy and costly treatment, severely impact quality of life, and can trigger a cascade of other factors that lead to a rapid decline of the health of an individual.
To facilitate understanding, identical reference numerals have been used, where possible, to designate identical elements that are common to the figures.